Supercross: Malcolm Stewart Scores 250SX East Win
| April 30, 2016
GEICO Honda’s Malcolm Stewart came into the East Rutherford Supercross—the penultimate round of the 250cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series—at MetLife Stadium having only a five-point championship lead over Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Aaron Plessinger, and 14 points in hand over Plessinger’s teammate Jeremy Martin, so the title was really up for grabs. After a dominant performance in New Jersey, Stewart has greatly increased his odds of coming away with the 2016 championship.
Malcolm Stewart won big in New Jersey in the 250SX East Main. Photography by Rob Koy
Stewart started just around the tail end of the top five, but he was on a mission and worked his way by Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull KTM’s Shane McElrath, and Dakota Alix, on the first lap, then Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Tyler Bowers a lap later. Only a lap after that, Stewart dispatched of race leader Martin Davalos of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team to take the lead, and that was that.
Stewart took the win by about five seconds over Davalos, then commenced to dancing on the start straightaway just like his brother did 12 years ago in the same championship.
“It’s about how hard I’ve worked to get to this point,” Stewart said of busting a move after his win. “With the practice days and doing laps at the track, to have it pay off tonight is a blessing in the sky. I can’t thank my brother enough; to be honest, I felt like I was a little bit down on myself, and we talked after the heat race, and he was like, ‘Malcolm, you know what? You’re the fastest guy out there. You’ve got to prove these people wrong. You’ve got to go out there and do it.’ So I went out there and did it for you, bud!”
Martin recovered from a so-so start for third in front of McElrath, while Plessinger—who rounded the first lap in 15th place—made his way up to fifth place.
Stewart now heads into the East/West Shootout (which pays points this year) in Las Vegas sporting a solid 14-point lead over Plessinger and a 19-point lead over Martin.
“We’ve got another race to go, and I’ll see the West boys coming soon…” Stewart said. “I don’t know who’s going to win, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter as long as I get this championship.”
–Steve Cox
